The conference agreement, which has cleared the House, passed the Senate today by a margin of 93-1. The agreement now goes to the President for his signature.
"This is tremendous news for Bath Iron Works and for the Navy," said Senator Collins. "We're are fully funding two DDGs, paying for the costs associated with the transfer of an additional DDG to BIW, and adding nearly $645 million in the shipbuilding programs."
For shipbuilding, the bill provides a total of $9 billion, $842 million more than was requested by the Administration. The bill would provide $2.3 billion for two DDG-51 Aegis-class destroyers and $1.5 billion for a Virginia class submarine. The bill includes $645 million to convert four big missile-launching submarines to carry conventionally armed cruise missiles rather than Trident nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. The conferees added $160 million to the $244 million requested to begin work on the first ship in a new class of aircraft carriers. The report also includes $944 million for DD(X), and an additional $30 million for the littoral combat ship program..
In addition to successfully maintaining significant appropriations levels, Senator Collins was successful in retaining an appropriation of $2.5 million for the "DDG optimized manning initiative." This is a study that would be led by Bath Iron Works aimed at reducing the crew size and increasing quality of life onboard the DDG. "This is an important study that will bring additional engineering work to Bath Iron Works and save jobs," the Senator added. This initiative was not included in the House bill.
The conference agreement will also provide $1.2 million for the Marine Direct/Ship Service Fuel Cell. This project offers tremendous potential to accelerate shipboard installation and fuel efficient, reduced maintenance, reduced emission marine fuel cells on U.S. naval vessels.